Common signs and symbols on Chinese transport systems
Navigate China: Transportation and Directions Guide: Common signs and symbols on Chinese transport systems
Common signs and symbols in Chinese transport systems, especially road and public transportation signs, follow a standardized format with distinctive shapes, colors, and bilingual texts in simplified Chinese characters and English to aid comprehension.
Categories and Examples of Road Signs in China
- Warning Signs (triangular with red border): Indicate hazards ahead (e.g., road work, pedestrian crossing).
- Prohibition Signs (circular with red border): Indicate forbidden actions like no parking (禁止停车, Jìnzhǐ tíngchē) and no entry (禁止通行, Jìnzhǐ tōngxíng).
- Mandatory Signs (circular with blue background): Require specific conduct like turn directions or speed limits (限速, Xiànsù).
- Guide Signs (rectangular): Provide directions, distances, or destinations.
Common Symbols and Chinese Terms
- Stop sign: 停车让行 (Tíngchē ràng xíng) meaning “stop and yield.”
- No parking: 禁止停车 (Jìnzhǐ tíngchē).
- Pedestrian crossing: 人行横道 (Rénxíng héngdào).
- Speed limit: 限速 (Xiànsù).
- Yield: 让行 (Ràng xíng).
Public Transport Signs
- Bus: 公交车.
- Subway: 地铁.
- Train station: 火车站.
- Taxi: 出租车.
- Ticket: 车票.
Design Features
- Often feature bilingual text in simplified Chinese and English.
- Use a combination of universally recognized symbols and Chinese characters for clarity.
- Color coding, especially in metro systems, where lines are identified by specific colors and numbers to help navigation.
- Symbols are designed to be intuitive and consistent across regions and modes of transport, including airports where special symbols like the one for “Maglev” train are used.
This system ensures that the signage is accessible to both locals and international travelers, combining visual symbols with language support.
These details and examples come from official Chinese transport signage standards and observations across metro, road, and airport systems in China.